Hidden In My Heart

By Marvin McKenzie

Years ago, when I first started in the ministry, I was admonished not to teach through Psalms 119. The reason, I think was with good intent. I was going to start a brand-new church and the pastor who encouraged me not to teach this wanted me to teach through Acts – it's an exciting book about church planting.

I just want to tell you that there may not be any more important portion of the Bible than Psalms 119. It sits right in the center of your Bible. It's the largest chapter in the Bible by far. Almost twice as long as the next longest.

May our loving Saviour bless a good meditation of this, most exciting piece of HIS WORD.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marvin McKenzie
• Release date: Dec 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215793640

Marvin McKenzie

Pastor Marvin McKenzie was saved at the age of eighteen. He has planted and pastored churches in Washington and Oregon. Involved in planting 10 churches[1] Executive Vice President of Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College, San Dimas, CA[2] and then Heartland Baptist Bible College, OKC OK.  Pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Puyallup, WA 19 years (December 1999-present) Celebrated 35th anniversary of ordination December 29, 2018 Published 65 books relating to Bible Study, Baptist History and Devotionals   Marvin and Anita have two sons; both serve in Baptist churches in Washington State. [1] I was a founding member of two of them, the co-founder of one, founder of one and sent men out of our church to plant the others. [2] I negotiated the sale of the PCBBC campus previous to the college’s move to OKC. I served as the first EVP at Heartland.

Book preview

HIDDEN IN MY HEART

A Study of Psalms 119

Marvin McKenzie

All rights reserved.

@2022

For written permission to use this material, please contact Dr. Marvin McKenzie at [e-mail]

Years ago, when I first started in the ministry, I was admonished not to teach through Psalms 119. The reason, I think was with good intent. I was going to start a brand-new church and the pastor who encouraged me not to teach this wanted me to teach through Acts – it’s an exciting book about church planting.

I just want to tell you that there may not be any more important portion of the Bible than Psalms 119. It sits right in the center of your Bible. It’s the largest chapter in the Bible by far. Almost twice as long as the next longest.

May our loving Saviour bless a good meditation of this, most exciting piece of HIS WORD.

Chapter One

LET ME COUNT THE WAYS

Psalms 119:9 (KJV)

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WRITER

Psalms 118 is the center chapter of the Bible, but this is awfully close.

There is nothing in the passage to give a definite answer to this.

While most of the Psalms were written by David, there are several of them that were composed by others.

Ethan the Ezrahite

Heman the Ezrahite

Asaph

The sons of Korah and even

Moses and

Solomon

contributed to them.

Some Bible commentaries even suggest that Psalms 119 may not have a single author but might be a collection of phrases and wise sayings that were compiled together to form the work.

I think that is unlikely because of the poetic nature and strong structure of the Psalm.

It doesn’t matter or else God would have told us specifically who He used to give us this piece of inspiration.

I think it is likely David. It bears small passages that sound to me like other things we know that David wrote.

QUESTIONS ABOUT WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN

By the way, just so you don’t think this is a waste of time to consider, remember that one of the first things a Bible student must do if he is to properly interpret the Bible is to ask the questions

Who was the writer?

To whom was he writing?

What were the circumstances at the time of the writing?

While we are not always given the precise answers to these questions for every passage – it is an important consideration.

All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God.

God saw to it that it is preserved in the Word of God

It is important to know whether it is God Himself speaking, or the devil.

Those who believe the Psalm to be a collection of wise sayings – sort of like proverbs only focused on just one topic – think it may have been written over hundreds of years, even after the Babylonian captivity.

I see it more like David’s opus.

David was a prolific writer all of his life. Some of the things he wrote were very short and to the point. I can see him sitting down with quill and parchment and penning Psalm 23 in a few moments.

I had poems come to my mind in the middle of the night while driving so that I pull over at a rest stop so I can write the words down. Mark Lowry came up with the words to the well-known Christmas song, Mary Did You Know? while sleeping on a music group’s bus, traveling from one gig to the next. He said he woke up one of the other guys, sang it off the top of his head and the rest, as they say, is history.

On the other hand, there are some things that take much more time and thought. I see David perhaps beginning this as a young man and working on it for the better part of his life.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STRUCTURE

Okay, well, there really aren’t any questions about the structure. I just gave it that heading for the continuity of my outline.

It is an amazing piece of the Bible because there is such a strong structure to it

A. There are twenty-two stanzas, each one beginning the next letter in the sequence of the Hebrew alphabet.

B. Each stanza contains eight lines.

In most cases the verses of our Bible are not inspired but simply divided into chapters and verses for our study help. That is not the case with the Psalms because they are individual psalms. And it is not the case with the verses of this Psalm because they are individual lines. Each one of the eight lines in each stanza begin with the same Hebrew letter.

C. There are a total of one hundred seventy-six verses.

D. There is only one verse that does not clearly reference the Bible.

E. None of them are the same.

There are one hundred seventy-five declarations about the Bible and not one of them is a repeat.

It’s like it’s an exercise

F. How many ways can we praise God for His Word?  

Psalms 119:122 (KJV)

Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.

The different words used to refer to the Bible include Law, Word. Judgments, testimonies, commandments, statutes, and precepts.

You cannot put too much attention on the Bible.

It should be the meditation of your lifetime.

Chapter Two

IT’S ALL BIBLE

Psalms 119:1-9 (KJV )

Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.

Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.

O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!

Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.

I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

There are nine words in all. Eight of them are found in the first nine verses of Psalms 119. I am going to take them in alphabetical order. The nineth one is found in Psalms 119:91. It has a uniqueness to it that caused me to set it apart.

COMMANDMENTS

Psalms 119:6 (KJV)

Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

You’ve probably noticed that every one of these has the same three points to work with. I used the Webster’s 1828 dictionary and supplemented with an online version of a modern Webster’s in a few cases where I needed some help.

Webster’s

A command; a mandate; an order or injunction given by authority; charge; precept.

Strong’s

To command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order

Ancient Hebrew

To commit to one’s charge.[1]

We might think of the commandments as the Ten Commandments. After doing this study I would suggest that it is not a reference to the Ten Commandments unless the context specifically points to them.

JUDGMENTS

Psalms 119:7 (KJV)

I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.

Webster’s

Determination; decision.

Strong’s

a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree.

Ancient Hebrew

To make a verbal decision.[2]

Note the concept of verbal. Sometimes we judge someone or something, but it results in how we respond. This is a judgment it isn’t an attitude we have based on a secretly judging. It is an action we expect based on a communicated decision.

LAW

Psalms 119:1 (KJV)

Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.

Webster’s

A rule, particularly an established or permanent rule, prescribed by the supreme power of a state to its subjects.

Strong’s

The word is Torah, a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch:

This is the whole of the first five books of the Bible. It is not the Ten Commandments. It is all of the commandments as well as those things taught in the rest of those first five books.

They are established and permanent. God has preserved them. They are accurate, without error and profitable for our study.

Ancient Hebrew

The pictograph is